Abstract Detail

Anatomy and Morphology

Kirchoff, Bruce [1].

Ovary anatomy and evolution in the Zingiberaceae and Costaceae.

The ovaries of the Zingiberales provide excellent material for the study of character evolution. Ovaries of the sister families Zingiberaceae and Costaceae provide an important source of taxonomic characters and may provide information for phylogenetic reconstruction. To explore these possibilities, taxa in the Zingiberaceae and Costaceae were selected for study based on their position in published phylogenies. Characters were described from similar positions in the ovaries. The levels selected for analysis were below the locule, ¼ of the way from the bottom to the top of the locule, in the middle of the locule, ¾ of the way from the bottom to the top of the locule, and above the locule in the middle of the tissue that closes the ovary. Data from these sections was used to describe anatomical and morphological characters, including characters related to the structure of the locules, the placenta, placement of ovules, the type of trichomes, and several anatomical characters. The characters were plotted on a combined phylogeny of the Zingiberaceae and Costaceae constructed from published trees of these families. Though the many of the characters turned out to be homoplasious or equivocal, several phylogenetically informative characters were discovered.